The Missouri Traveler

Missouri Traveler is an okay movie; you and your kids can enjoy it at least once. Biarn is a runaway from an orphan's home who happens across the small town of Delphi, where he settles into an abandoned farm and makes a life on his own with both the help and interference of various of the townsfolk. Brandon DeWilde's performance as Biarn is rather underplayed, almost to the point of making him seem a bit dull; this is probably his weakest film performance but even so he's okay in it. There were so many differences between the book and the movie though, and I wonder why the movie version was changed so much. In the movie, most of the theme seems to be Biarn rising above Tobias Brown's taking advantage of him, but in the book the themes are much deeper and more numerous; just by being himself, Biarn affects many of Delphi's townsfolk to an extent nobody realizes until the end of the story. This unexpected depth of the plot has unfortunately not made it from the book to the movie. Even so, watch The Missouri Traveler - and if you and/or the kids like the movie, get the book. Read it, have your kids read it, or read it to them at bedtime... it's nearly 300 pages and you'll learn the REAL story of the Missouri Traveler. The movie is 'nice' but only a taste of the actual story; I would really like to see this one remade, staying faithful to the actual story. It would be so much better.

Most of the other reviews make me cringe - not because they're so out there, but because they show how much individuality and gumption today's Americans have given up for a malevolent government safety net. Years ago, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas told a college graduating class (I forget whether it was at Ole Miss, or his alma mater University of the Holy Cross in Worcester Mass.) the one thing that has stuck in MY head, ever since..."the awful truth is, when you're in America, you're on your own." In the 1800s and even into the early 1900s, orphaned kids weren't given special dispensation for being orphans and such kids grew up damned quickly. The fact that so many succeeded in so many economic directions only spoke to the innate spirit of a man (or woman) when there was nothing to fall back on.

Most every review here does nothing but attempt to impose 21st-century social standards upon a world well over 100 years removed. I daresay someone from 1890 or 1900 would be nonplussed by the criticism of the world they considered normal by people today who've been coddled into complete infantilism. All one needs to do is to search the internet for a typical 8th-grade final junior high school graduation exam to see how much lowered today's standards have become...a 25-year-old today can't pass an exam a 13-year-old was expected to master 140 years ago. Biarn showed guts, spunk and quick wits to overcome the two deuces life dealt him. Thank the good Lord he wasn't the only one. Yes, it can be sappy at times but all in all this was a good watch.

An odd look back at "simpler" days where things really weren't really so simple, at least for the mysterious young boy (Brandon De Wilde) who shows up in Missouri, getting much attention as he passes through a small town. He catches a ride with the dark souled Lee Marvin and meets a kind, caring stranger in the noble Gary Merrill who, being reminded of himself as a youngster, begins to look after him. Strange agreements with Marvin see Dr Wilde taking residence in an abandoned house on Marvin's property and taking care of a wild horse that Marvin gave to Merrill to settle a debt. Marvin cruelty teaches De Wilde the hard facts of life, constantly reneging on verbal deals he made with him, repeating over and over, "It's not worth anything unless you have it in writing".

Often disturbing, thus is a surprisingly adult for a supposed family coming from Walt Disney's Buena Vista studio. Some folksy elements make this almost a Currier and Ives painting, with dark twists and turns. Paul Ford adds both humor and pathos to the role of the lovable old tavern owner who was forced to stop selling beer and start selling chili that nobody likes. Others among the ensemble are Kathleen Freeman and Frank Cady. But with Marvin's constant darkness, it's difficult to see the light at the end of the horse race. An odd example for Disney to try more serious themes, presented in a way that leaves the taste of sour grapes in the viewer's mouth.

Nearly every scene of this featherweight film set in the early 20th century is directed at an andante tempo, its story concerning a youth named Byron (a lacklustre Brandon DeWilde), a runaway from an orphanage who finds a home in a quiet Missouri town named Delphi, thanks to the editor of the local paper, played warmly by Gary Merrill. Byron is not, however, a favourite of wealthy but harsh land owner Tobias Brown (Lee Marvin), who teaches the lad lessons of life the hard way; their conflict forms the kernel of a torpid work which does benefit from a strong performance by always reliable Paul Ford as proprietor of a small cafe but which is sunk by the flaccid direction and hackneyed dialogue.

I usually like turn of the century (1900), small town America movies. But this one had no zing to it, nor did it make you care about the characters. Who's fault was it? The director? The writer? The actors? I'm thinking the writing, but who knows what happened during production. There were some top actors in this movie too. Brandon de Wilde still had a big name from his earlier years but his acting was a little flat in this one, in my opinion. Lee Marvin was Lee Marvin with his strong, stony acting style so can't blame him. Gary Merrill did a decent job as the local newspaper editor but not as good as I've seen him in other movies. The actor who really made this movie any good at all was Paul Ford who played the cafe/restaurant owner. He was the only one who seemed to know how to carry a scene, and with pizazz. He has always been a great character actor. Another great character actor is Frank Cady who should have been given a larger part in this movie to help bring it along. I remember him as the store owner in Green Acres and more-so, I remember him as Doctor Williams on Ozzie and Harriet. He has always been a quiet yet competent actor. The female lead was someone named Mary Hosford, as in the credits it said she was being introduced, and I don't think she ever made another movie. She was OK but you didn't have any feelings for her part. One thing I liked was how the men stood and took off their hats when the flag went by in a parade. That was commonplace at one time, but I notice teenagers today often not bothering to take off their hats for the National Anthem at sports games. I don't think they are being ignorant, I think many ARE ignorant. Ignorant of what is proper, as no one ever taught them to respect the freedom represented by the US Flag. So, I'd say take a look at the movie if you don't have to go out of your way, and if you like the good old days and or horse or sulky racing. It's not a memorable movie, but worth seeing once I guess.